‘Cricket’ Articles
Written by admin on 12 December 2012
Bangalore, Dec 12 (IANS) Arch rivals India and Pakistan will clash in the T20 World Cup for the sightless Thursday as both teams cruised through semi-finals Wednesday, beating Sri Lanka and England respectively at the Central College ground here.
India piled up 318 runs for eight wickets in the stipulated 20 overs and restricted the Lankans to 195 for six wickets in their 20 overs to storm into the final by 123 runs.
In the other semi-final, Pakistan surpassed the modest target (182) by hitting 184 for loss of one wicket in just 12.2 overs after restricting England to 181 runs for nine wickets in their 20 overs.
Opting to bat first after captain Shekar Naik won the toss, India made a breezy start posting 78 runs in the first three overs as vice-captain Ajay Kumar Reddy (partially blind) carried his brilliant form to hit 134 off 55 balls, while Ketan Patel (totally blind) and Ganesh Bushara (partially blind) contributed valuable runs to make 54 in 31 balls and 59 not out in 25 balls.
Though in-form Prakash Jayaramaiah (partial vision) was out plumb while attempting an outlandish drive after posting 27 in eight balls with flurry of shots, the Indian batsmen accelerated the run rate, thanks to sloppy fielding and dropped catches in the outfield by the beleaguered Sri Lankans.
Chasing an imposing target of 319 runs, the Sri Lankans made a hash of their batting by losing wickets regularly and trailing behind in the run rate even in the slog overs.
Deshapriya (partial vision) waged a lonely battle for the Sri Lankans with an unbeaten 111 off 63 balls.
Reddy was adjudged man of the match for his century and two wickets for 23 runs.
Legendary former Lankan skipper Arjuna Ranatunga, who flew in to watch his team face off against the Indians said, blind cricket was a treat to watch the high commitment levels of the players, which is even more than that of many regular cricket players.
In the other exciting semis, England messed up its campaign and were outplayed by a surcharged Pakistan, whose in-form Mohammad Akram (partial vision) hammered 103 not out in 42 balls to reach the target in the 13th over, as he was ably assisted by Aamir Ishfaq (totally blind) with 36 not out in 22 balls and Aleem Murtaza (partially blind) scoring 29 in nine balls.
Pakistan won the semis by nine wickets.
Akram was declared man of the match.
Emotions ran high in a surcharged atmosphere in anticipation of an Indo-Pak final Thursday.
While the Pakistan contingent, fresh from emphatic win over England in the other semis, rent the ground with cries of “Pakistan Zindabad”, Indian fans responded with frenzy catch phrases “Jeetega bhai Jeetega, World Cup Jeetega!”
With both India and Pakistan in nick en route to the title clash, the stage is set for a cracker of a contest in the finale.
The players are classified into three categories – totally blind as B1, partially blind as B2 and with partial vision B3. Each team of 11 members comprises four blind (B1), three partially blind (B2) and four with partial vision (B3). The wicketkeeper is a B3 player.
Interestingly, for every run scored by the blind, one more is added. As a result, a hit to the boundary will be counted as eight and a sixer as 12.
Tags: Karnataka
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
Bangalore, Dec 12 (IANS) Over 7,000 tickets for the first India-Pakistan T20 tie at Chinnaswamy stadium here Dec 25 will be sold online from Thursday, former Test cricketer and Karnataka State Cricket Stadium (KSCA) secretary Javagal Srinath said.
Maximum tickets for public – 7,187 – will be sold online at www.bookmyshow.com for stands across the stadium at different fares, while 5,500 tickets for gallery stands, priced at Rs.250, will be sold Dec 21 through counters at the stadium,” Srinath told reporters.
Online tickets are priced between Rs.1,600-15,000, with those for corporates priced at Rs.12,500 and executive lounges at Rs.6,000, and terrace seats at Rs.9,000.
Though the stadium in the city centre facing the famous Cubbon Park boasts of 35,533-seat capacity, only 12,687 seats are available to the general public, as the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has to provide the remaining seats to various associations, clubs, boards and VIPs.
“Of the total seats, 2,800 are reserved for KSCA members, 3,600 for cricket clubs, 3,400 for other cricket associations, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) 2,673, corporates 3,705, complimentary tickets 6,168 and the remaining for our staff and officials,” Srinath said.
Tickets for about 500 fans from Pakistan will be issued through the PCB.
Police will provide security. “As per the guidelines, the stadium will be handed over to the city police for sanitising and making fool-proof security arrangements…movement of fans will be regulated and restricted,” KSCA president and former ace leggie Anil Kumble said.
The match between the arch rivals will be played in the night from 7 p.m. onwards on Christmas day.
A four-member Pakistan official team visited Bangalore Dec 3 to inspect security and other arrangements being made for their team and their fans in the city.
About 500 Pakistani fans have been given visa to witness the two T20 matches and three one-dayers between the two countries. In addition, high profile persons, including former Pakistan players, will also be visiting India as PCB guests to watch the matches.
The second T20 will be played at Ahmedabad in Gujarat Dec 27 and the three one-dayers in Chennai Dec 30, Kolkata Jan 3 and New Delhi Jan 6.
Tags: Karnataka
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
Kheda/New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) Cricketer Irfan Pathan Wednesday shared the stage with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi at an election rally in Kheda, signalling the ruling BJP’s desire to woo the youths and the minority community ahead of the balloting for the state assembly.
Pathan was with Modi during the rally for the second phase of elections in the state Dec 17. The first phase polling will take place Thursday.
The BJP has not fielded any candidate from the state’s main minority community in the polls but has been making efforts to woo the community to widen its electoral base. Former state deputy chief minister and Congress leader Narhari Amin joined the BJP last week.
Congress leader and External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid took a dig at Modi over Pathan’s presence at the rally.
Khurshid said Modi was trying to pull a rabbit out of a hat to ensure his victory. He said in an election one cannot expect the opponent to fight as “you would expect”.
“I am surprised he is fighting it in this manner,” he said.
BJP MP Smriti Irani defended Khan’s presence and said that people would vote for the party on the basis of development brought about by Modi in the state.
She said the Congress was “demonising the player (Khan)” and “hitting below the belt”.
Tags: Kheda, Madhya Pradesh, New Delhi,
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) Mohinder Amarnath, who called the selectors a “bunch of jokers” when he was dropped from the India team, Wednesday alleged that cricket board chief N. Srinivasan prevented the five wise men from sacking skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni after the disastrous Test series in Australia.
Amarnath’s comments come at a time when India are struggling to save the home Test series against England and have lost 10 of their last 13 matches.
The 62-year-old said the selection committee, including himself, took a unanimous decision to sack Dhoni post the 0-4 loss in Test series Down Under and field a new captain for the following one-day series. But BCCI chief Srinivasan overruled it.
“It was a unanimous decision of all five selectors. The board president did not approve the decision to replace Mahendra Singh Dhoni,” Amarnath told CNN-IBN.
“When you respect a person, you don’t ask questions…but my question here is: you have a selection committee which thinks what is best for Indian cricket, then why it is not given a free hand?”
“We were trying to look ahead, we wanted a young captain to come in, specially in triangular one-day series so that we can go ahead and do something better in near future…If we don’t look ahead, we won’t have a good team in the future.”
“We selected 17 players for the triangular series but we did not select the captain. The captain was selected by somebody else,” said the former India cricketer.
Asked why the panel did not go against the board at that time, Amarnath said: “Yes, we did think about that, but the decision was not to resign at that time. We did not want to create a big stir there as the team was playing abroad and the series was going on.”
The former India all-rounder’s revelation did not go down well with the board while his contemporary Sunil Gavaskar called the move “incredibly courageous”.
“I will not go into what he (Amarnath) has said. I don’t think this has ever happened. I don’t think it is appropriate to give statements like this,” BCCI senior official Rajeev Shukla told reporters here.
“Whatever one has to say, one can say while participating in the selection meeting. Making comments about selection issues is not appropriate as it creates some kind of perception in the minds of players and fans.”
“Selectors are independent. They are not under any pressure,” Shukla added.
Gavaskar, on the other hand, told NDTV that if someone has the courage of conviction, he has to be admired.
“He (Amarnath) is prepared to face the consequences. It is a testimony of his self-belief. It needs to be admired. What Jimmy has spoken is incredibly courageous and, maybe, lessons need to be learnt from that,” Gavaskar said.
Gavaskar said getting the team’s approval from the BCCI president was an age-old protocol.
“It’s a protocol, actually. Any team selected does go to the board for approval, not just the captain, even the 14 or 16 selected for a Test or for an overseas tour. That’s the protocol not just in India, but I understand that is the protocol even in Australia and England. The final approval is up to the board, so I don’t think it is out of the ordinary,” he summed up.
Tags: New Delhi, New Delhi,
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
Nagpur, Dec 12 (IANS) England captain Alastair Cook was surprised with the way his team has bounced back in the Test series against India with back-to-back wins and hoped the momentum will continue in the fourth Test starting here Thursday.
“I am pleasantly surprised by the character shown by the team (after Ahmedabad) in the last two games. I am pleased. We have played good, tough cricket. But we have to continue that,” Cook told reporters here Wednesday.
England lead the series 2-1 and are now looking at their first series win in India in 28 years.
“The last game was a real team effort from everyone. At the beginning of the series we were desperate to win it and we are having an opportunity here to do it,” said Cook.
The England captain said his boys are focussed on finishing the job but expects India to bounce back.
“Everyone knows how important this game is. As a player you have to focus on the job at hand and keep emotions out. They (India) will be desperate not to let the home record broken,” he said.
Asked whether it could be Sachin Tendulkar’s last game, Cook said: “He’s an amazing player with a fantastic record like his one hundred 100s. It has been a pleasure playing against him.”
Tags: Madhya Pradesh
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
Nagpur, Dec 12 (IANS) Alastair Cook is in line to become the first England batsman to top the ICC Test Player Rankings since 2003, when his side takes on India in the fourth and last cricket Test starting here Thursday.
Captain Cook is currently ranked fourth on the table with 874 points, just five behind number-one ranked Shivnarine Chanderpaul. And although Michael Clarke is just one rating point behind Chanderpaul, Cook will have the first crack at the No.1 ranking as his Test finishes a day before the Australia-Sri Lanka Test, which begins in Hobart Friday.
With Cook having already scored 548 runs at a healthy average of 109.6 in the series so far, there is a strong possibility of him achieving the coveted No.1 position for the first time in his career.
The last England batsman to top the batting table was England captain Michael Vaughan, who surged to the top at the conclusion of the fifth and last Ashes Test in Sydney Jan 6, 2003. In that match, Vaughan scored zero and 183 as England won by 225 runs. Vaughan finished with 633 runs, including three hundreds in that Ashes series and was voted player of the series.
The other England batsmen to top the batting table are Graham Gooch in June 1994 and David Gower in February 1986.
At the age of 40, Gooch became the oldest to hold the top spot on the batting charts since Jack Hobbs in 1928. The oldest to be the No.1 ranked batsman ever was W.G. Grace in 1897 at the age of 49.
Cook has an opportunity to create history not just with his batting but also by hoping to achieve England’s first Test series win in India since 1984-85. England currently leads the four-match series 2-1.
Tags: Madhya Pradesh
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar Wednesday said it was ‘incredibly courageous’ of his contemporary Mohinder Amarnath to take on the Indian cricket board by revealing that the board chief overruled the national selectors when they wanted to remove Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the team’s skipper.
Amarnath raised a storm by saying that N. Srinivasan, president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), overruled the selection committee’s decision to sack Dhoni after the team had lost all the four Tests in Australia last season. Amarnath was part of the selection panel, headed by Krishnamachari Srikkanth.
Gavaskar, reacting to Amarnath’s sensational disclosure, told NDTV that if someone has the courage of conviction, he has to be admired.
“He is prepared to face the consequences. It is a testimony of his self-belief. It needs to be admired. What Jimmy has spoken is incredibly courageous and, may be, lessons need to be learnt from that,” Gavaskar said.
Gavaskar said getting the team’s approval from the BCCI president was an age-old protocol.
“It’s a protocol, actually. Any team selected does go to the board for approval, not just the captain, even the 14 or 16 selected for a Test or for an overseas tour. That’s the protocol not just in India, but I understand that is the protocol even in Australia and England. The final approval is up to the board, so I don’t think it is out of the ordinary.
“Even in different committees they come to some sort of a decision. It goes to the Working Committee. From the Working Committee it goes to the full board,” Gavaskar said.
The batting great, however, said that any unanimous decision by the selection committee should be accepted by the board.
“Ideally, of course, if you have a committee to take a call, that committee takes a decision, particularly if it is a unanimous decision then that should be taken on board.”
Asked why have the selection panel when the veto power lies with the president, Gavaskar said: “You need a selection panel as it has people who have played the game. They have the required experience. And if you have that in place, then you have to rely on it.”
Asked whether there was not a conflict of interest when the board president owns an Indian Premier League team and the captain of that team happens to be Dhoni, Gavaskar said: “It is a tough call for anyone in that situation but to think that the president will go against the well being of Indian cricket, is a going a little too far.”
Tags: New Delhi, New Delhi,
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) The Indian cricket board Wednesday condoled the death of famous Ranji cricketer B.B. Nimbalkar, who passed away Tuesday at age 93 due to age-related ailments in Kolhapur.
“Bhausaheb Nimbalkar was an outstanding batsman, who averaged 57 in first-class cricket. He still holds the record for the highest individual score by an Indian in first-class cricket – 443 not out for Maharashtra against Kathiawar in 1948-49. After his retirement, he was a source of inspiration to budding cricketers,” board secretary Sanjay Jagdale said in a statement.
“The BCCI honoured him with the Col. C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award, for his contribution to the sport, in 2002. On behalf of the Board, I extend my condolences to his family. May his soul rest in peace,” he added.
Tags: New Delhi
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
Nagpur, Dec 12 (IANS) India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is not surprised with his team’s rough patch in the Tests and said Wednesday that his boys are high on morale ahead of the fourth and the final Test against England that will be their only chance to avoid a sries defeat at home.
“Everybody was talking about this phase in Indian cricket when the big players would move on and the pressure will come on the youngsters and we may go through a rough patch. I think everybody expected this kind of a patch,” Dhoni said.
“Of course, we have struggled in the last two Tests. If you ask big questions depending on two Test matches…it (a situation) may come in the future too where we may lose two Test matches and people will say, okay all these youngsters should go out and someone else should come in,” Dhoni said.
Asked if his position as the skipper was threatened, Dhoni said: “When people appreciate me a lot, I don’t feel as if I am in seventh heaven. And it’s the same when people criticise me. We (Indians) have extreme opinions.”
“We praise and then start pulling the same individuals down. I would say it’s very important to be in the middle path because that’s how you will enjoy the sport.”
On criticisms by former cricketers like Rahul Dravid and Mohinder Amarnath, Dhoni said: “As ex-cricketers we respect their opinions but we have our own problems to solve.”
“If you are part of the Indian cricket set-up, everything is under the microscope and everybody has an opinion. You can ask plenty of questions on why that guy was not picked and why this guy was not given the new ball. It’s a team sport. It’s getting very critical,” he said.
Dhoni insisted that the spirit of the team was high.
“Spirit in the team is really good. When you go through a bad patch, you fail to enjoy. Dressing room atmosphere is great,” said Dhoni.
The skipper said the true character of his team will evolve in the tough situation they are facing.
“As a captain and an individual such a situation does not happen often. It was a similar situation against South Africa too (in 2010) when we played at home and were down in the series and the last game was at Kanpur (and won the match to draw the rubber).”
“But such situations are very few. Won’t say it’s a very good situation to be in, but the true character of a person as well as the team comes out in tough situations. In a way it’s good we are in a situation like this. We have nowhere to go and have to do well in this game,” he said.
Asked if he would prefer three spinners, Dhoni said: “The wicket looks good and hard. The combination of the team…you have to wait and watch. Can play the third spinner if you can weigh how important roles the fast bowlers and spinners can have on this wicket.”
“There will be some reverse swing (depends on) whether we are going with that or with the fact that as the game progresses the additional spinner can be very effective in the second innings. We have to take into consideration all these and then decide on the playing combination.”
Despite media reports that he was upset with Gautam Gambhir, Dhoni praised the southpaw.
“The best thing about Gautam is his aggressive character. He has batted very well in the last two games. Being aggressive is not only about stepping out and hitting the ball but also about positively defending,” he said.
Tags: Madhya Pradesh
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) Former selector Mohinder Amarnath Wednesday revealed that Indian cricket board president N. Srinivasan overruled the selection committee’s unanimous decision to remove Mahendra Singh Dhoni as India captain following the disastrous tours to England and Australia last season.
Amarnath said the five-member selection panel, headed by Krishnamchari Srikkanth, had approved Dhoni’s removal after the whitewash Down Under and wanted him replaced for the following triangular series with Australia and Sri Lanka.
“It was a unanimous decision of all five selectors. The board president did not approve the decision to replace Mahendra Singh Dhoni,” Amarnath told CNN-IBN.
“When you respect a person, you don’t ask questions…but my question here is: you have a selection committee which thinks what is best for Indian cricket, then why it is not given a free hand?”
“We were trying to look ahead, we wanted a young captain to come in, specially in triangular one-day series so that we can go ahead and do something better in near future…If we don’t look ahead, we won’t have a good team in the future,” Amarnath said.
“We selected 17 players for the triangular series but we did not select the captain. The captain was selected by somebody else,” said the former India cricketer.
Asked why the panel did not go against the board at that time, Amarnath said: “Yes, we did think about that, but the decision was not to resign at that time. We did not want to create a big stir there as the team was playing abroad and the series was going on.”
“We were expecting them to do well. To be honest, I lost interest after that though I did attend the selection committee meetings, but I was the last person to join the discussions.”
The one-day series took place in February-March.
“I was not happy, I was upset. I did not call anybody. I knew they were not going to play much cricket after that, except the T20 World Cup. So, I did not want to create a scene over there. I’m the last person to create controversy,” Amarnath said, explaining why he kept silent on the issue.
While Amarnath wanted Virat Kohli to captain the one-day team in Australia, he now wants Gautam Gambhir to take the responsibility in the longest, Test format as he thinks Dhoni is not good enough to be in the playing eleven.
“He does not deserve to be part of the team. Why should he continue? I don’t create controversies, I don’t do things to get mileage…he is not good enough to play Test cricket at this moment.”
Talking about the team’s future, the 62-year-old said: “I would definitely go ahead with Gambhir, because he has the experience. He has the potential. He has been captaining the side. He has the right temperament and is a frontline batsman. As a captain you have to lead from the front. I don’t know what the selection committee would do, but I think he is the right guy.”
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) The Indian cricket board Wednesday rubbished former selector Mohinder Amarnath’s claim that it had overruled the decision of the national selectors to remove Mahendra Singh Dhoni as captain, and said it was inappropriate to discuss such matters in public.
Amarnath has stirred a controversy by saying Dhoni’s removal as captain of the struggling Test side was stalled owing to politics in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
BCCI senior official Rajeev Shukla, however, said the selectors had a free hand in deciding the team.
“I will not go into what he (Amarnath) has said. I don’t think this has ever happened. I don’t think it is appropriate to give statements like this,” Shukla told reporters here.
“Whatever one has to say, one can say while participating in the selection meeting. Making comments about selection issues is not appropriate as it creates some kind of perception in the minds of players and fans.
“Selectors are independent. They are not under any pressure,” he added.
Amarnath had told television channels that someone in the BCCI did not want to act against Dhoni after the disastrous tours to England and Australia.
“Yes, definitely the selection committee didn’t want Dhoni after the humiliating series in Australia… We wanted to replace him, but I think somebody from the BCCI didn’t want that,” Amarnath had said.
Tags: New Delhi, New Delhi,
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Written by admin on 10 December 2012
New Delhi, Dec 10 (IANS) Eshan Mani, a former president of the International Cricket Council (ICC), feels that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was wrong in agreeing to a brief limited overs series in India.
“I think the PCB is wrong to have agreed to this. If it is a political decision, then the PCB should have asked the politicians to make sure that India reciprocated by coming and playing against Pakistan even if it was at a neutral venue,” said Mani, who represented the PCB in ICC from 1989 to 1996.
Mani doubts whether India would reciprocate in the same way by playing in Pakistan. He said the Indian cricket board was responsible for isolating Pakistan in international cricket after the 2008 Mumbai attacks by Pakistani nationals.
“India owes Pakistan two series which it has cancelled out. It is totally wrong that Pakistan should be going to India. My opinion is Pakistan should not be going to India at all. India or the BCCI went out of its way after the Mumbai attack to isolate Pakistan cricket at the ICC,” Mani was quoted as saying by Pakpassion.net.
The Pakistan team will tour India for the first time for a bilateral series since 2007. Sporting ties between the two countries were snapped after the 2008 Mumbai attacks. But Pakistan played the semi-final of the 2011 World Cup against India in Mohali.
Mani said that PCB is just helping the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to fill its overflowing coffers “with no assurance of a reciprocal tour”.
“This short series will enable BCCI to earn over $100 million, probably as much as $150 million. All we’re doing is to help India make a lot of money out of us, with no assurance of a reciprocal tour,” Mani said.
“So I think it has not been thought through properly. It is sort of trying to get the headlines. I don’t see any benefit to Pakistan cricket in terms of getting cricket back to Pakistan by playing this series. Certainly, I am not in favour of it,” he said.
Pakistan will play two Twenty20 internationals in Bangalore (Dec 25) and Ahmedabad (Dec 27). It will be followed by three ODIs in Chennai (Dec 30), Kolkata (Jan 3) and Delhi (Jan 6).
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